Netflix finally has some good news to start 2012 after a rocky 2011. The streaming movie and TV show service is now available for residents of the UK and Ireland. Users in both countries can check out the streaming video service for free for one month. After that pricing in the UK will be 5.99 pounds per month and 6.99 euros in Ireland.

Netflix's streaming service has thousands of movies and TV shows available at launch for its new territories, including the BBC, All3Media, Channel 4's 4oD and various Hollywood movie studios. PC and Mac users can watch the service and Netflix apps should now be available for owners of the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii game consoles in those countries. Owners of iOS and Android-based smartphones and tablets can also download Netflix apps for the UK and Ireland.

While Netflix basically launched the streaming video business in the US several years ago, it will face some established competition in the UK and Ireland markets. Lovefilm, which is owned by Amazon, already offers its own streaming video service for 9.99 pounds a month. It also has signed a deal to show BBC programming on its service, along with shows from ITV. It will be interesting to see how Netflix deals with an already established company in such a big market.